Fantasy Attraction (Hidden Secrets) (35 page)

“We’d like to take her in for observation, but judging on what happened here as long as she follows up with a doctor within three days we will release her in your care.”

“Thank you.  I’m taking her home then.”

I lifted her in my arms and took her back to the truck. Once inside the truck and I had Colleen comfortable, I sent a text to everyone that rode with me that I was leaving and for them to get a ride back to the house from Jason.  Then I took off and headed home.  Colleen had her arms wrapped tightly around my waist and her head in my lap.  Running my hand through her hair gently, I prayed that she was going to be okay.

Everyone was out the door by the time I pulled into the garage.  Not stopping for anyone, I quickly moved into the house.  Not even stopping when I heard my mom scream that I was bleeding.  Nothing mattered right now other than getting my
Angel taken care of.  Sitting on the side of the tub with her in my lap, I started to fill the tub.

“Baby, I’m going to undress you so you can take a bath okay? But before I do I need to know, did he…I mean were you…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

“No, you got there before he could,” she said in barely a whisper.

Letting out the breath I was holding, I took off her clothes and lowered her in the tub.  Sitting on the edge, I began to wash her.  She just sat there staring off into space.
As I poured water over her head, she didn’t even blink.  She was scaring me.  Once she was completely clean and there was no trace of the horror she almost endured left on her, I drained the tub.  Still, she just sat there, not moving, not talking… just sitting there.

“
Angel?”

Nothing.

“Angel?” I said again reaching out and touching her face. 

She jumped slightly before turning her head and looking at me. She stared for a moment before I saw
the tears pool in her eyes and her lip start to tremble.  My heart was breaking all over again.

“Hey, no you don’t have to cry.  I’m right here and don’t plan on leaving you anytime soon. Okay?”

She nodded her head, but still didn’t say anything.  After explaining that was going to get her some clothes, I walked out into the closet and grabbed one of my shirts that she liked wearing and grabbed a pair of my boxers and carried them into the bathroom.  I found her in the same spot I left her.  Frowning, I walked over and helped her dress.  Carrying her in my arms again, I took her out to the bedroom and put her in the bed.

“I’ll be right back.  I’m going to change into some pajamas too, okay?”

After a nod, I hurried to the closet and grabbed my pajama bottoms and crawled into bed with her.  Sitting against the headboard, she curled into me with her head on my shoulder and her arm over my stomach wrapped in my arms. Resting my cheek on her head, I took a deep breath.  She was home.  She was safe, but was she sound?  I just didn’t know at this point.

Suddenly the door flew open and Colleen started screaming.  I wrapped her in my arms tighter whispering that it was okay.  Over and over again, I told her I was there; that no one was going to hurt her anymore until she finally calmed down.  Looking up, I glared at Geno.

“How is she?” He asked panicked and my anger subsided a little.

He moved to Colleen’s side of the bed and took her hand. “Colleen? Sweetheart? Can you look at me honey?  I just need to know you’re okay.”

She slowly lifted her head and looked at Geno before bursting into tears and wrapping her arms around his neck.  Geno held her and cried with her.  I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and there was Jackson with her OB-GYN, Dr. Hayes.  I smiled and told them to come in.

“
Angel?  Let’s check on our baby.  Dr. Hayes is here to take a look.  You want to see our little bundle of joy?”

She nodded her head with fear in her eyes.  This was what she was worried about.  How did I not guess that?  Hopefully after this, she will be a little more talkative.

The doctor sets things up and Jackson tipped his head toward the door and I noticed everyone kept poking their heads in.  I smiled to myself.

“
Angel, do you mind if everyone comes in and watches?  They are excited about our new bundle of joy.”

“They know?” She whispered.

“Yes, sorry.  But when you went missing I panicked and was losing control of myself and it came out.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.  They can come in,” she said softly.

A few minutes later, the doctor was ready and everyone was huddled on the other side of the bed.  I laid there holding her hand and watching the screen holding my breath.  Soon a familiar image filled the screen and a sound filled the room. 
Our baby’s heartbeat
.

After a few moments, he looked at us and smiled. “Perfectly fine.  You did a great job protecting your ‘
Lil one here.  Keep in mind, there are many layers between the baby and the outside world.  It is far more protected than you think.” He smiled. “Now I will still see you again at our regular scheduled visit.  If anything comes up before then you give me a call okay?”

“The baby is really okay?  There’s nothing…”

Dr. Hayes placed a gentle hand on hers and smiled softly.  “Your baby is perfect. Strong heartbeat and everything.  Don’t worry.  You did good mama.”  He patted her hand and began packing things up.

Colleen turned and looked at me with a big smile on her face and tears in her eyes.  “Our baby is okay.” She said with a sob.

“I know Angel, I know because you are an awesome mother. Soon we are going to be parents.  I love you.” I said before kissing her lips tenderly.

Someone cleared their throat and I broke away to her giggles.  She turned to find Geno standing next to the bed.  She got up and kneeled on the bed. Looking at him and taking his hand in hers, she smiled. “Thank you dad…for everything.”

A tear slid down Geno’s cheek as he pulled her into a hug.  Colleen turned back around smiling at me, but suddenly her smile dropped.

“Carson you’re bleeding!” She said shocked.

I pulled her to me and in my arms.  “I’m fine.” Resting my hand on her belly, “I am better than fine.”

“Okay Casanova, let me take a look at you.” Jackson said.

EPILOGUE

~COLLEEN~

When Carson found me, I thought I was seeing things.  I thought that it was an illusion in my moment of terror.  But he was really there, he really did save me.
  He has been so patient with me while I got over some of the nightmares that haunted me from that experience and has lived to his word about being there for me.  I honestly could not be any happier than I am right now.  Our baby was doing great and I was now about twenty weeks along.  There really was nothing to complain about. 

I loved my little baby bump that I have and so does Carson.  He rubs my belly even in his sleep.  When we first found out I was pregnant, I was worried that he was running.  He was so shocked and my heart broke at the thought, but he
has truly shown me that he was just that… shocked.  We have turned one of the spare rooms on the first floor into a nursery and put a connecting door between it and our room. So Carson still kept his office.

Carson wouldn’t go for the baby being in the room like I wanted.  He said he wants to be able to ravage me whenever he wants without having to worry about waking the baby.  I love that man.
 

Last I had heard,
Rocco and the gang were all serving time in prison for more counts than just the time I was there.  Rocco from what I was told was pretty messed up from Carson’s attack.  The thought still makes me shudder. That look in his eyes was one I will never forget, but I knew I would never receive that look from Carson.  He was protecting me and our baby.  Honestly, I expected no less than a scary man rescuing me.

Mary and I have been spending a lot of time together.  She is a lot like me in a lot of aspects.  I actually have kind of melded into the family seamlessly.  Mary and I get together every chance she can get to come back home and I have been dying to see her in concert.  Kayla and I still hang out often; the plans for the foundation have been going smoothly.  With Carson no longer fighting, we are able to get more done because we can all meet on a regular basis.

I worried when Carson first spoke about not fighting anymore that he would live to hate me for it, but it has been quite the opposite.  He is in love with being a trainer.  I try to get in there and train some, but he freaks if I do a sit up.  Good thing we have a gym at home.  He’d really freak if he saw what I did there.

Tommy and Carson are actually working together and have become quite the friends.  I knew from our lunch date that Tommy was a good guy. And even though I was so hurt and angry at him for what he did to me, I still liked him.  He got a good ass kicking when he came around with flowers to say he was sorry.  He was tore up from Carson already, but I gave him some more.  So much could have been lost that night.  Tommy is
redeemable, though.  He’s proven that to Carson a lot over that past few weeks.

We have found out the sex of the baby, but are keeping it a secret.  Carson told
me that if I wanted to tell anyone that I could since he spilled the beans about us being pregnant.  Although as I have told him time and time again, he did what he should have done.  It helped to get a more well laid out plan for my rescue.  I wasn’t upset at all.  I think I will keep the sex to just us for a little while longer.  It’s funny to listen to them guess and beg for the gender.

Dad has been around a lot.  He actually took over my apartment and bought out the gym that Carson and Tommy work at.  They are all now partners and the business is booming.  My dad
has really stepped up and shown me that he truly had no choice but to have my father raise me.  It hurts like hell, but after experiencing my time with the Garcia brothers that I did, I understand.  I would have been corrupted long before if he had kept me. 

About a week ago, I found out that my mother is still alive and I have two half-brothers.  After finding this out, I received a call from Lenny Garcia telling me that he sent my money back to me and was releasing my dad because my statement to him allowed him to find out that he had a son and so did his brother. 
Yes, both by my mother.  From what I hear, they are trying to turn themselves around and do things legally.  Funny how kids can change your prospective of things.  They have quite a few years of making up, but what hurt me the most about all this was my mom kept them.  She was good to them.  I guess I was just never her cup of tea.  I have no contact with my mother and wish her no ill wishes, just to keep the hell away from me.  She may share my blood, but I will never be her daughter.

Though things have been amazing for us, I get paranoid with every slow moving vehicle because when the cops arrived Wendi was not in the house.  No one knows how or where she went and part of me still fears she’ll come after us. I did tell Carson why she was after him and he was sick to his stomach over it, but in the end it wasn’t happening.  He was mine and I was his.

So here I sit, staring at myself in the mirror contemplating what to wear.  Tonight Carson was taking me to see Mary in concert.  She was playing close and I really wanted to go see her.  I have loved her music for a while.  What was dating her brother if I didn’t play the family card every once in a while.  Carson said he always went to her shows when they were close enough so it was really no drag for him to be going to this one now.  Carson was going to be a great dad, if he treats our child half as well as he treats me. Sighing, I run my hand over my baby bump.

This is how Carson found me, in my bra and underwear staring at my baby bump in the mirror day dreaming of what was to come for us.  I was still amazed at the feel of our baby growing.  For the first time the other night, I could feel the baby kick with my hand not just the butterfly effect on the inside.  I haven’t told Carson that yet. In one of the books I read, it says that often times men feel inadequate during the pregnancy process and to give them as much first time experience
s as possible. So I have kept that gem to myself.  I haven’t lied to him; just want him to have that joy.

“Hey,” he whispered against my ear as he wrapped his arms around me. “We are going to be late if you don’t decide what to wear soon.  As sexy as you look in this, I’m not letting you out of the house like this.”

“I don’t know what to wear,” my breath catching as he trailed his lips down my neck. “If you don’t stop doing that we’ll never get out of here.” I sighed melting into him.

“Mmm, can’t think of a better excuse to stay home.” He growled into my neck before softly biting it.

“Carson…” I started to say, but his hands moved down and over my belly and just as his hand touches my stomach I felt the kick and he jumped back.

“Holy Shit! Did you feel that?  What am I saying? Of course you felt that! Wow…” he stammered before placing his hand back on my stomach to feel another kick.

The smile on his face and the tears in his eyes was one I will never forget.  You could just see the happiness and wonder pouring from his expression.  This was why I kept it all to myself.  This was worth it.  His face, his joy was worth everything.

“Our baby is moving in there,” he whispered.

“I know,” I whispered back, placing my hand over his.

He leaned down and kissed me so tenderly and so passionately that my knees nearly gave out on me.  When he finally broke the kiss, my breathing was labored and I had to close my eyes to the sensations this man provoked in just one kiss still overwhelmed me.

“Thank you Angel.  You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”

“You’ve done the same for me.  Now I suppose I need to get ready don’t I?”

“Yes, you do.  We leave in thirty minutes.”

That was all it took, my excitement to see Mary in concert took over.  I had to dress up because Carson wanted to take me out for a nice supper afterwards.  So after flipping through my new clothes from my dad, I found the dress I was going to wear.  A
fter all of twenty minutes, I was ready and walking out into the living room where Carson waited for me.

“Wow!” He breathed. “You are stunning.”

“You don’t look too bad yourself.”

After another amazing kiss, he was ushering me out the door.  We arrived at the Civic Center that Mary was playing at fifteen minutes later and were ushered through a crowd of people wanting to talk to Carson.  We were then led to a booth that was practically on top of the stage.  I was just in complete awe of everything around me.  I had never been to a concert before and honestly was overwhelmed with the things going on.

We were sitting there enjoying the show when Mary calls Carson on the stage.  I look at him and then to his siblings with my eyebrow arched.

“Don’t
worry, this is normal.  Wait until you see this.  It’s awesome.” Colt leans over and whispers in my ear.

I nodded my head and watched as Carson made his way on stage and the crowd
was going nuts.  It was probably both men and women screaming for him.  I laughed to myself.  He stood at the mic and said hello to everyone.  He raised his hands and signaled for them to calm down.  Soon everyone was quiet.

“Tonight, I decided that I would change things up a bit.  Instead of my sister and I’s usual performance, I wanted to do something a little more meaningful.” He turned in the direction of the box.  “Can one of you bring her
down, please?”

My heart stopped as Nick took my hand and led me down on the stage.  Nick kissed my cheek and headed back up to the booth.  I stared at Carson in shock.  He just smiled and winked at me pulling a stool over for me.  As I sat down, he gave me another soul searing, knee buckling kiss.

Walking away he went to a piano that had been pulled on stage.  I turned and looked back at the box where his whole family sat and they all just smiled at me.  Carson’s voice brought my head back around.

He started singing, “Nothing in the world has made me feel the way you do.  Nothing has ever mattered more than you. Nothing could fill my soul the way you have.  Yesterday nothing was there and today nothing fades away.  You stole my heart and made it whole. Nothing lives no more in me.  The day I met you, you brought me everything.”

He continued to sing the most breathtaking song I have ever heard.  Tears fell down my cheeks and suddenly the packed stadium vanished and it was just me and Carson.  He sang pouring his heart out to me.  I had no idea that he was this good.  Maybe it was just because of the love he was pouring into the song, but it was the best song I had ever heard.

The song ends and he walks around the piano and in front of me.  He pulls me up to stand with him.  Kissing me and wiping my tears away, he starts talking to me.

“The day we met was explosive in more ways than one.  I fought for you and what I thought was there.  What I didn’t expect to find was a love I cannot describe and a heart so full of happiness and love it could burst.  Then I hear the words that caused my heart to overflow.  Two words that changed my life forever…I’m pregnant.  It was two of the best words you have ever said to me, outside of I love you.  Before I met you, my days ran together and nothing separated one day from the next.  Since you have been in my life, each day has meaning and a purpose.  Angel, please,” he lowers down on one knee, “Will you answer one more question for me?  Will you marry me?” He opened the box, but honestly, I couldn’t take my eyes off his face.

He had
a tear falling down his cheek and a nervous smile on his face.  When I finally broke from his face and looked down at the box he held in his hands my heart stopped at the beauty of the ring. It was then I noticed his hands were shaking and it dawned on me I hadn’t answered.  Looking back up into his eyes, they took my breath away.

“
Is this for real?” I breathed, my hands shaking.

He laughs. “Yes
Angel, it’s real.  You’ve said the best two and three word phrases to me. Can I have the one word that would set this all over the edge?”

I beamed at him, “
I love you so much. Yes, yes, I’ll marry you!”

He was off his knee and wrapping his arms around me in no time flat.  He spun me in a circle and kissed my lips passionately before finally sliding the ring on my finger.  Mary came up and hugged me with tears in her eyes as well.

“Congratulations! I am so glad to have you as a sister,” she whispered in my ear.

The audience was cheering until I heard the bang.  My eyes immediately snapped to
Carson, who was bending down collecting me in his arms rushing me off the stage. Shaking so bad that my teeth were chattering, I tried to check Carson but he kept such a tight hold on me that I couldn’t check him.

Mary stood next to us huddled under Carson’s other arm.  Everything happened so fast I hadn’t realized he had grabbed his sister too.  An eerie silence took over the stadium.  Then a laugh filled the silence, not happy laughter either.

“Carson, I told you we’d meet again,” came the voice that still haunted my dreams.

Carson spun around, letting go of both me and Mary, storming out onto the stage.  I tried to run after him, but two bodyguards held me back.

Carson stood there staring Wendi in the eyes.  “You ruined what was supposed to be an amazing night…again!” He hissed.

“You’re with the wrong girl.  All of this could have been avoided if you would just come to me.”